Matchmaker
by itsokaytobeafraid
Summary: Time to put Kim's match-making skills to work! Let's see if she can get Jerry and Grace together.


**This is for Grace/Jerry One-shot Day, which was supposed to be on April 17****th****! Sadly, my FFn account wouldn't let me upload stories until two nights ago, but I've been too busy to get on my computer 'til today. I arranged it with away-with-the-water, which is her birthday, and she is the most obsessed Grace/Jerry shipper I know. Right now, I'm starting to warm up to the idea of Grace and Jerry, so…yeah. I apologize for any OOC-ness. There's also a little bit Kim/Jack because I love that pair to death!**

**This is for away-with-the-water! Happy very late birthday Ariana!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kickin' It.**

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"That's totally swag, yo."

"Quit saying 'yo', Jerry. You're annoying me."

"You need to get more swag Milton. Only swag people say 'yo'."

"No, only people with as little brain cells as you say 'yo'."

Kim put her head in her hands as she listen to Milton and Jerry's constant bickering. They've been going on for _half an hour_, arguing about anything and everything. She was trying to study for the math exam with Jack, but the two boys' voices overpowered her tired brain.

Suddenly, the blonde cheerleader only hears Milton ranting. Where'd Jerry go? Kim looked up from her Math textbook to see Jerry gaping a something – or someone – across the hall. Kim followed the boy's line of sight to…her best friend. Kim wasn't surprised, she had seen the way Jerry looked at Grace before, but she didn't want to crush Jerry's poor, little heart, by telling him Grace was exactly… interested in him.

Grace stood at the hallway doors, quickly but elegantly making her way to where Kim was sitting next to Jack. The brunette stopped in front of the pair and stared at Kim and Jack, sprawled out next to the stairs, and sharing a textbook.

"Aww! You two are too cute!" she squealed, while pointing at them. Kim blushed scarlet and looked away from the cute boy sitting next to her. She glanced at Jerry. Wow, he was pretty much drooling on the floor.

Grace turned away and reached her locker; spinning the dial on the lock to match up to the right numbers in her combination. She pulled out her English notebook and turned around, crashing right into Jerry Martinez.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry! Are you alright? I didn't mean to! I just was trying to get my writing journal out of my locker! It was an accident, I swear—"

"Yo, Grace, chill. I'm fine. I get that it's an accident; no need to fuss muchacho."

The cheerleader reddened and looked at the ground. "I-I need-d to g-get to class-s," Grace stuttered as she hurried out of the hall and up the stairs, without casting a look behind her.

Kim looked at Jerry, still looking at the stairs that Grace climbed. _You two are too cute_… the blonde smirked as a brilliant plan started forming in her mind.

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Grace showed up at the dojo, and even though it was "fashionably late", everyone was surprised except Kim. After all, Kim did tell Grace that she should come to her karate practice.

"So this is what your dojo looks like, Kim! Think it's cool." There was a slight pause before Grace said, "But the mats smell like sweaty gym socks."

Everyone looked at Rudy, who protested. "Hey, the last time I hired someone to clean them, we almost got robbed!"

Jack punched the punching dummy in front of him before saying, "And Milton took out the whole gang of robbers."

"That was so incredible! Milton's like our dojo's hero!" said Kim enthusiastically.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," said Jerry, trying to impress Grace, "I could take out those guys. They weren't that skilled."

Eddie snorted, "Well I'm sure that you can't take them out. I know that we tried and ended up tied up!"

Grace giggled, "Wow, real macho Jerry. Being tied up are what girls totally go for."

"It is? Then I should get tied up more often," said Jerry innocently.

Everyone gaped at Jerry's obliviousness. "Uh, Jerry?" asked Jack.

"What?"

"I think that was sarcasm that Grace used."

"Really?"

Kim sighed exasperatedly at how dumb Jerry was being, "Yes, it was." The cheerleader glanced at the clock, "Practice is about over. Why don't we head over to Falafel Phil's?"

Jack shrugged, "Sounds good to me." Jerry, Eddie, Milton, and Grace all agreed to come.

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"And that was the time Milton filled in for me at St. Patrick's Day concert," finished Kim.

"Yeah, it was hilarious, yo. Milton actually sounded like a girl!" Jerry exclaimed.

Milton blushed, "I do not!"

A chorus of "Uh-Huh"s was heard around the table. Jack put his hand on Milton's shoulder, "Dude, I think you do sound like a girl."

The red-head buried his head in his hands. "Hey, it's okay. You could be like, the new Ricky Weaver. After all, he does sound like a girl," said Eddie.

"Oh, don't you remind me of the backstabbing, stupid, player! I can't believe that I ever like him or his music!" exploded Kim.

Grace nodded in agreement, "I know, I can't believe that I ever liked him either!"

"Uh, me and Jack were going to head to the skate park, so, um, we better go," said Kim.

"Wait, when did I say—"

The blonde elbowed her best friend in the ribs. "We better go, NOW," she said as she dragged Jack after her. As Kim left with Jack, she made sure to bump into Eddie's and Milton's chairs, hoping that they'd get the message.

Milton did, but Eddie, unfortunately, did not. Still, Milton knew what Kim was trying to do, based off their conversation in Chemistry.

"_Hey Milton, could you hand me that beaker? No, not that one, the one next to it. Thanks," said Kim as she reached over for the beaker filled with a mysteriously strange colored liquid._

"_You're welcome. By the way, do you know why Jerry's been acting strange lately?" asked the nerdy boy who was her lab partner, and only friend in Chemistry._

"_Oh, gosh. Boys are so dumb sometimes," muttered Kim, rolling her eyes._

_Milton became indignant, "I am not dumb! I get straight A's and have always been the schools model student!"_

_The blonde girl tried to soothe her friend's distress, "No, I mean, you guys are ignorant! Can't you tell that Jerry is falling heads over heels in love with Grace? It makes me feel a little sick to be honest, even though I'm happy for them. You know my best cheer friend, Grace, and then my friend Jerry…" Kim shuddered._

"_Wait, Jerry likes Grace?"_

"_See what I mean!"_

_Milton scratched his head, "I guess you're right…so the question is, does Grace like him back?"_

"_Yeah, she does. Well, she hasn't straight out told me, but girls have this like, sixth sense to detect when people have a crush on each other. So I'm planning on trying to get them together today after school."_

"_Good luck with that."_

Milton grabbed Eddie's arm, "Um, you're Nana called me and said that you should go over to her house today. I think I should come, right? You don't want to go alone."

Eddie was confused, "She has your number? Wow, she does love you more than me! I've known her for my whole life and never knew her number. But I'm totally okay with that!"

"C'mon, Eddie we don't want to be late," said Milton as he dragged his friend out of Falafel Phil's much like Kim dragged Jack just moments before.

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"Shhh!"

"What are we doing, hiding behind this bush in tree hats?" **(1)**

"We're trying to spy on Grace and Jerry, Jackie."

"Why are we spying on them, Kimmy?"

"First, don't call me Kimmy. Second, that proves my point again! Boys are ignorant!"

"We are not, Kimmy!"

"Shut up about 'Kimmy'! And you guys are!"

"Nuh-uh! Boys are not ignorant!"

"Well then, Jack, did you notice that Jerry and Grace have a crush on each other?"

"What? They do?"

"See? That proves that Kimberly Crawford is always right."

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"So…" Jerry started awkwardly.

"So…" repeated Grace. The atmosphere was filled with tension now that everyone else left. No one has ever left them alone together before, and things were kind of weird now at their window table in Falafel Phil's.

"Um, how's cheerleading?" asked Jerry. When he first became friends with Kim, the only thing he knew about her was the fact that she was a part of the cheer squad, so that's always what he asked her.

"Oh gosh, Jerry. Kim was right, you are very, um, absent-minded."

"Wait, I am?" The beautiful brunette girl sitting across from him just rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, you are. Did you just forget that you are ON the spirit squad?"

"I am? Oh right, yeah I remember now," the Latino blushed furiously, "I forgot," he mumbled.

Grace softened, "I forget things all the time."

"Do you ever forget homework? Or when cheer practice is? Or even when you have to come home?" Jerry exploded, "It's not fair! Why did I have to be so forgetful?"

The brunette girl was shocked by her friend's sudden outburst. She never thought he was capable of such emotion and…desperation.

But what she didn't realize was that Jerry was crumbling, under the pressure from his parents and teachers to do better in school and the shadows of his so-much-better friends.

"Never mind," said Jerry dejectedly, as he started to get up from the restaurant booth, "You wouldn't understand."

"Wait," said Grace, reaching across the table and grabbing Jerry's arm, "Don't go. And if I don't understand, try to make me understand!" The stunningly pretty girl pleaded to him with her eyes.

The Latino dancer looked torn about what to do. On one hand there was escape from Grace's puppy-dog eyes and her want to know the truth, but then there was the chance of finally being able to tell someone about everything.

"I need to – fine, I stay," said Jerry as he slumped down into the chair in defeat. He looked nervously around the busy restaurant, his eyes landing everywhere but on Grace.

"Look at me," whispered Grace. Jerry forced his eyes to land on Grace, and then turned away quickly. What if she hates him for what's troubling him?

"Please tell me," pleaded Grace, "Tell me what's going on. Scientific studies say that everyone needs to spill things to someone else at least once a week."

Jerry cracked a smile at Grace's scientific fact, "You're starting to sound like Milton."

The girl sitting across from him glared, "Don't try and change the subject," in a much softer tone she said, "Just…you know…spill."

Jerry gulped. He had this urge to tell Grace everything. Maybe it was the fact the he liked her, or maybe it was because she didn't know him as well as Jack, Eddie, Milton, or even Kim. So he opened his mouth and actually starting speaking, "You know how my grades aren't exactly the bestest?"

Grace leaned forward, propping her elbows on the table and placing her chin in her hands. She kindly ignored the fact that "bestest" isn't a word. "Yeah, and so?"

"Well, my mom is trying to get me to raise my grades up from D's. The teachers even called my mom to tell them about how concerned they are about my progress in school. But they don't know how hard I work! I try, I really do! Now, I even stay up late and study for hours to try to bring them up from high D's to at least C's! But all the studying didn't do anything! My grades went DOWN! Why is it so hard for me?"

Grace tried to comfort Jerry, "I'm sure you'll do just fine by the next report card."

"No, I won't! This has been going on since December, and now it's April! And it's not fair how everyone's good at something but me! Well, I tried to be a good dancer and stuff, but that plan backfired when Smooth took my dance move! All my friends are better than me. Jack is so cool, since he's literally the best at karate in the world! He even went to China for a tournament! And Milton, he's not just really smart, but he's a really, really good football player! Kim is right behind Milton, being in everything from cheer to student council, the school newspaper and honor society! Everyone thinks Eddie's Uncle is Big Easy from the globetrotters when he really isn't, so everyone thinks he's so cool! I pretty much live in my friends' shadows," ranted Jerry. He was now a wreck. Not at the point of crying, but the unshed tears stung his eyes.

"Jerry," started Grace, then she stopped. She didn't realize Jerry was this…broken. He also seemed so happy and innocent. Wow, looks can be deceiving.

The big thing is that that was almost exactly like her situation, except she wasn't failing school. Her mom always pushed her to be the best. But, Kim's mom was like that too, and even though the two were inseparable best friends, they were fiercely competitive. Sadly, Kim always beat her. When they were little, Kim was the best student at their dance school. The middle school talent show was won by Kim and her singing. Her blonde BFF had the best grades beside Milton, and Grace was one step behind her. Kim won student council president, and Grace was vice president. But once they hit high school and tried out for cheer, Grace made the cheer squad as the captain. It was the first time the Grace ever beat Kim, so she kicked her best friend of the cheer squad out of satisfaction.

"I'm leaving," said Jerry. Apparently, he took Grace's silence as disdain. He grabbed his jacket and stood up, heading toward the door. The tears were about the spill. After all, he just got rejected by the girl he liked.

Just as Jerry pushed open the door, he was stopped by someone grabbing his wrist. He turned around to see Grace standing there, looking sad, "I don't hate you Jerry. I can…relate to everything you said. I've always lived in Kim's shadow, so…yeah." She looked down at her sparkly high heels.

The pair stood together in an awkward silence at the door. Finally, Jerry broke it by saying, "Do you want to go out and get ice cream, or something?"

Grace bit her lip and smiled shyly, "Sure, I'd love to."

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"See Jack? I told you! They like each other!"

"Fine, I admit; Kim Crawford is right."

"You forgot the always!"

"Whatever."

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**Thanks for reading! Please review!**

**I kind of got the idea of Jerry angst from away-to-the-water. And I added some Grace angst. I want the two to be able to relate to each other. So…sorry if it's bad! :P**

**Right now, I'm trying to make a goal list for FanFiction of stories and stuff to finish before the end of May. I guess, and hope, that it will make it easier. Wish me luck!**

**(1) Anyone know where this is from? Do the words "tree hats" ring a bell?**


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